Nearing the 1-year anniversary of my great-uncle's death

I was too emotionally distraught to post the pics when I first took them,
but I was recently thinking about the loss of my great-uncle Bob, and decided
to share a few of the pics.

These were taken less than a week before his passing, and I can confidently
say that it was Uncle Bob's last moment of pure cognitive joy. He left us just
eight days before his 87th birthday.

Physical and mental health failing fast, Uncle Bob's fellow band members
arranged with management of his apartment building to setup an impromptu
concert within the stairwell and halls of the building, just outside his place.
It was enervating, moving, amusing and rather unorthodox, but that's just
the sort of respect and admiration my great-uncle garnered during his whole life.
These guys would have given their life for my uncle, any one of them.

Uncle Bob played saxophone and clarinet for most of his adult life, with his passions
for music rooted in the big band era. Glenn Miller was a particular inspiration for him,
and his band, The Acorns("we're all just a bunch of nuts"), reproduced those classic
tunes with heartfelt gusto. The surviving guys of the band have shown me the new
business cards, which specifically state that they're "Bob Dondero's The Acorns."

I've had the pleasure of hearing them all perform before, my uncle included,
several times, and they are VERY GOOD at reproducing the big-band and swing sound.

Long story not so short, this is a photographic record of sorts, which portrays
the band members playing for my Uncle Bob. I had camera in hand, but it was such
a tremendously emotional experience that I captured nothing more than basic snapshots.
Even so, I expect most viewers can understand and appreciate the situation, and even
the absurdity and unusual nature of the venue that day.

I was crying as I took the pictures, just as I am crying as I post this.
You are dearly missed, Uncle Bob.

1 Setup

I'm sorry for your loss Craig but glad you got to capture this in photos to look back on forever.

Sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing!

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Many thanks for your responses, Chris and Carrie.

Uncle Bob was much more of a father to me than my own, so it was with much regret and sadness
that I had to say a final goodbye to him. He was my mother's uncle; my grandfather's brother.
I never knew my mother's father, but through Uncle Bob, I came to understand that my grandfather
and I would have gotten along just famously.

Curiously, the family ties go back to Abraham Lincoln. Uncle Bob's father was once in posession
of the letter sent to President Lincoln which encouraged him to grow a beard.
Uncle Bob's Grandfather actually met with Grace Bedell and Abraham Lincoln's son,
Robert Todd. The infamous letter was given to him by Ms. Bedell, and The Letter now resides
in climate-controlled archival status within the Detroit Public Library system.
Uncle Bob's father subsequently acquired the letter, and it was through his efforts
that Uncle Bob later bequeathed it to the Detroit Public Library system,
where it now resides in a protected and controlled state.